Veritas Configuration Manager Profile A Profile Prepared by EMA October 2006
Table of Contents Corporate Information...1 CMDB Type:...1 Areas Supported:...1 IT Domain:...2 Target customers:...2 Product diagram:...2 Market Focus and Standards...2 Best Practices...2 Standards...3 IT Service Management Support...3 Vendor Services Offered...3 Product Summary...3 Structural Analysis: Concept and Design...4 Configuration Items...4 CMDB Population...4 Data Schema...4 CMDB Maintenance...5 Management Data Repository...5 Federation...5 Open Access...5 Integration...5 Remediation and Reconciliation...5 Performance and Scalability...5 Security...5 Analytic Capabilities...6 Automated Actions...6 Information Conveyance...6 Alignment with Business Services...6 Features & Benefits...6 Real-time Change Tracking...6 Dynamic Dependency Mapping...6 Automated Discovery...6 Pro-Active Impact Analysis...7 Server Consistency Check...7 Operations/Pricing...7 Operating systems supported:...7 Pricing Model:...7 List Price:...7 Maintenance fee costs:...7 Maintenance agreement levels:...7 EMA Viewpoint...7 An Assessment of CMDB Adoptions and Priorities in 2006
Corporate Information Symantec is the world leader in providing solutions to help individuals and enterprises assure the security, availability, and integrity of their information. Headquartered in Cupertino, Calif., Symantec has operations in more than 40 countries. More information is available at www.symantec.com. IT and Customer Owners CMDB EVOLUTION CMDB Systems 5 Years Out PROCESS-CENTRIC CMDB CHANGE IMPACT MANAGEMENT CI Modification via Policy and Review C.A.B. 24 Hrs Cache Policy-selected Events, Flow and Discovered State. REAL-TIME CMDB SERVICE IMPACT MANAGEMENT Visual Access via Policy for Trusted Sources Change Audits and Desired State. IT and Customer Owners. CHANGE ADVISORY BOARD (C.A.B.) D.S.L. Application Dependency Mapping Configuration Asset Inventory Application Developement Infrastructure Utilization Infrastructure Topology QoE Flow, Consumption Systems Performance Events Service Impact Analysis CMDB Type: The Veritas Configuration Manager (VCM) creates its own repository of configuration items (CIs) in an open database schema and integrates with major CMDB platforms. It offers functionality in both process-centric and real-time areas -- more specifically, Application Dependency Mapping, Asset, Inventory, Infrastructure Topology, Events, and Service Impact Analysis. In addition, VCM is the only configuration management solution to provide real-time change tracking. Process-Centric Real-Time Areas Supported: Application Dependency Mapping Configuration Asset Inventory Application Development Infrastructure Utilization Infrastructure Topology QoE Flow, Consumption Systems Performance Events Service Impact Analysis Page An Assessment of CMDB Adoptions and Priorities in 2006
IT Domain: Application Dependency Mapping Database Management Network Management Storage Management System Management Security Target customers: Enterprise 80% Mid-tier 10% SMB 0% Service Provider 10% Product diagram: Market Focus and Standards Best Practices COBIT ITIL Six Sigma An Assessment of CMDB Adoptions and Priorities in 2006 Page 2
Standards CIM DCML SNMP SOAP WSDM ML IT Service Management Support Availability Management Capacity Management Continuity Management IT Financial Management Service Level Management Security Management Change Management Configuration Management Incident Management Problem Management Release Management Service Desk Vendor Services Offered ITIL Consulting Strategic Planning and Initial Assessments Development Implementation Systems Integration Product Summary Veritas Configuration Manager (VCM) is the industry s only configuration management solution capable of automatically discovering server and software configurations, dynamically mapping infrastructure dependencies, and tracking changes in real-time. By providing unparalleled visibility into the IT environment, VCM delivers the ability to pinpoint changes, minimize application downtime, and resolve problems faster. Its automatic discovery capability replaces labor-intensive errorprone inventory collection with up-to-date information and monitoring that integrates with major CMDB platforms. VCM easily enables ITIL and IT Service Management initiatives around Change Management with fast deployment and a short time-to-value return. Combining the strength of VCM with Symantec s Data Center Management solutions provides customers with a simplified, yet powerful toolset to master the increasing complexity of the enterprise data center. Page An Assessment of CMDB Adoptions and Priorities in 2006
Structural Analysis: Concept and Design This graphic shows the evolution of the IT market as seen by EMA. Configuration Items What type of input and data is gathered and included in the CMDB (i.e., network, system, etc.)? VCM automatically discovers all server hardware at a very granular level including network, file system, and patch information. It also discovers all applications and custom applications out-of-the-box, and graphically maps the relationships between these CIs. CMDB Population How is the data (CIs) brought into the CMDB and what types of relationships are associated with them? This includes discovery and relationship building (i.e., agent-based or agentless, WMI, SNMP, etc.). Discovery and relationship building is performed via an agent which communicates with a master server and populates the CMDB. In addition, VCM supports a federated CMDB model and integrates with other major CMDB platforms (Openview, Tivoli, Peregrine). Its datasync API also allows for automatic population and updates of CMDBs. Data Schema What standards are supported specifically around the schema (i.e., CIM)? Briefly characterize the schema provided out of the box, their extensibility, and the amount of customization available. The data schema is a non-standard schema, but is capable of exporting data into any schema through the Datasync API and integrates with other major CMDB platforms. An Assessment of CMDB Adoptions and Priorities in 2006 Page
CMDB Maintenance What tools and capabilities does the CMDB have for creating, modifying and updating CMDB? The CMDB has a set of SQL database views that provide access to all of the information in the database. Integration with other CMDB platforms and service desks allow for additional data viewing and modification. Lastly, access to the database can be gained via any standard SQL tools or Oracle DB views. Management Data Repository What databases are provided and supported (i.e., Oracle, Sybase, etc.)? If the database is custom-built, please comment on scalability, failover support, etc. Oracle and IBM UDB. Federation To what degree is the CMDB federate or monolithic? Is it designed for use with other vendor s CMDB? VCM supports a federated CMDB model through an open database schema that integrates very easily with other major CMDB platforms. In addition, the Datasync API can integrate with other customized CMDBs and maintains up-to-date information. Open Access How is data made available to other management tools? The data can be retrieved using out-of-the box SQL queries or via any custom SQL data retrieval tools (ie. Crystal Reports), as well as integration into other service management platforms. Integration How is data integrated from other management sources (i.e., ML, CIM, etc.)? Datasync API integration Remediation and Reconciliation How is data from multiple sources reconciled? VCM provides the most up-to-date and accurate information in a federated model for servers and applications. Consequently, this data would take precedence and the CMDB would integrate with other platforms to obtain information on other CIs. VCM also has a simple modeling wizard to address any conflicts or undefined information. Performance and Scalability What are the unique performance and scalability strengths (i.e., how many CIs can be supported)? The solution has outstanding scalability and the main data repository is an Oracle database. Any limitations would be on the database side, but should scale efficiently for any global enterprise. Security How is access control and identity management handled? Please comment on unique security features..509 certificates are used to authenticate and encrypt agent communication to the management server and role-based authentication is used for access to the administrative console. Page An Assessment of CMDB Adoptions and Priorities in 2006
Analytic Capabilities What analytics are targeted by the CMDB and supported out of the box? VCM provides real-time analytics on server and application behavior out of the box. It is only configuration management solution that can provide real-time change tracking. It offers an array of analytic capabilities through its SQL data store and allows for full access to CI information. Automated Actions What policy-based automation features are included? Automatic notifications can be configured to notify staff of changes to key servers, applications or configuration files via email, pager, SNMP and other methods. Scheduled consistency checks can also be run to prevent server drift and alerts can be set to notify of any changes being made outside the established change control windows. Information Conveyance What reports, roles, types of IT and business users supported in GUIs and reports are available? VCM provides a myriad of reporting capabilities out of the box. Most notably, pro-active impact analysis capabilities are built into the solution to allow customers to determine potential impacts prior to committing changes to production environments. In addition, server and application consistency checks are enabled out of the box and monitoring of change control windows. Role-based access controls (RBAC) provides different views and administrative functions based on user type. Alignment with Business Services What business services are targeted by the CMDB? VCM enables the creation of business service mappings to connect service delivery to the infrastructure. This provides a visual and reportable view of IT services and their dependencies throughout the IT environment. Features & Benefits Real-time Change Tracking Tracks changes to server and software configurations in real-time to reduce change-related downtime. Tells customers what changed, when, in what order, who did it and what s impacted instantaneously. Pinpoints changes to help fix problems faster and minimize downtime and performance degradation. VCM enables users to gain control over change in their environment, stop unauthorized changes, identify changes being implemented outside of the change management process, correlate incidents with change, and validate that planned changes took place. Dynamic Dependency Mapping Dependency maps show how applications and servers are related to one another within the overall business service delivery environment and where changes are taking place. VCM automatically maps up and downstream server and application dependencies to provide visibility into the IT infrastructure and improve service delivery. Eliminates the need to manually track and update maps. Automated Discovery Without the need for manual input or prior knowledge, Configuration Manager automatically builds a comprehensive hardware and software configuration inventory, including enterprise and custom applications. It integrates with major CMDB platform providers (HP Openview, Tivoli, Peregrine) and aligns with ITIL and ITSM initiatives. An Assessment of CMDB Adoptions and Priorities in 2006 Page 6
Eliminates labor intensive and error-prone documentation efforts for servers and applications and provides accurate up-to-date information. Pro-Active Impact Analysis Enables more efficient change management by allowing customers to run what if scenarios to determine the potential impact on the infrastructure before a change is made in production. Server Consistency Check Compares server and application configuration information to established baselines or corporate gold standards. VCM ensures consistency and compliance to the standards by comparing servers and providing detailed reports on application configurations. Operations/Pricing Operating systems supported: Solaris 2.6, 8, 9, 10; AI 5.2L, 5.3L; RedHat 2.1, 3.0; Suse 8,9; HP-U 11i; Windows 2000, 2003. Pricing Model: Management Server and per CPU licensing. List Price: Contact Symantec for pricing. Maintenance fee costs: Contact Symantec for pricing. Maintenance agreement levels: Business hours, 24x7 EMA Viewpoint Symantec s June 2005 acquisition of Veritas followed EMA research predicting that many enterprise IT organizations had reached a point in their evolution where a coordinated, enterprise CMDB was becoming a necessity. At that point, manually-gathered and maintained data kept in isolated technology silos no longer met IT requirements. The February 2006 acquisition of Relicore moved Symantec to the forefront of CMDB vendors, providing superior dependency mapping capabilities and introducing the Veritas Configuration Manager (VCM). These acquisitions and subsequent development investments show that Symantec is serious about its commitment to the CMDB market. Overall, EMA predicts the CMDB market will remain very active over the next two years. The advantages of the VCM approach becomes evident early in its implementation. Unlike many of its competitors, VCM provides a simple out-of-the-box automated, dynamic discovery of servers and applications. This is done via an agent which must be installed on each monitored server. This may prove a disadvantage at some organizations, especially those that are worried about adding agents to sensitive servers. VCM mitigates these concerns by observing behavior through an innate read-only mechanism and securing the agent via PKI. This agent-based approach gives VCM significant advantages over its competitors. First, it allows for real-time change tracking, which ensures that application mappings and CIs are current and up-todate. This information is not only critical for CAB decisions, but it provides IT operations with a wealth of information for incident and problem resolution. VCM provides robust drift control which allows comparison of all changes, in real time, to the gold standard defined by IT operations. This real-time feature is unique, as far as EMA has discovered, in the industry. Page An Assessment of CMDB Adoptions and Priorities in 2006
Second, it provides an infrastructure-wide view into application, service and server dependency mappings. Understanding upstream and downstream dependencies is a key to impact analysis both for troubleshooting and change requests. Dependency mapping is based on pre-defined models which is a common approach, although the agent-based method of gathering the information allows VCM to detect much more granular data, including interesting statistics such as frequency of communication between applications. Dependency mapping was identified as one of the top three pain points for enterprise data centers, according to recent EMA research. The installation of VCM can also be done quickly and without the need of extensive professional services consultants, a significant barrier to entry for many of the CMDB framework vendors. In addition, the VCM user interface provides a simple point-and-click experience, for a wide range of tasks from reporting to creating new, customized application dependency models. While reporting is a strong point for the solution, the non-standard data schema and manual export functionality and Datasync API could be stronger. VCM is designed to work in a fully-federated CMDB model. It has off-the-shelf adapters for integration to HP OpenView, IBM Tivoli and others. Although it has the functionality to play the role of a core CMDB, the product is clearly positioned as a good CMDB citizen. EMA believes this position will prove advantageous over the long run, as the CMDB market consolidates, especially as VCM has many of the toughest CMDB challenges addressed (discovery, dependency mapping and real-time change tracking). Also, the choice VCM does not lock customers into a single vendor.. EMA recommends that customers looking at CMDB solutions for solving data center issues consider VCM. An Assessment of CMDB Adoptions and Priorities in 2006 Page
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